Dating stamp



June 1931. R. VlLLON ET AL ,08

DATING STAIP Filed Oct. 22, 1 928 Patented June 2, 1931 'R-AOU'L VILLON AND ROBERT 'LEMAIGNEN, OF PARIS, FRANCE DATING STAMP Application filed October 22, 1928, Serial No. 314,276, and in France October 28, 1 927.

Various devices have already been proposed for obtaining in dating stamps, by the operation of one of the number wheels, the driving of one or several other wheels whose numeration corresponds to a value of a higher order as well as the maintenance of the said wheels in the position to which they have been brought and the locking of the maintaining or keeping members when 1c the said wheels are in position.

The present invention has for object a device in which the rotation of a number wheel upon the periphery of which the minutes are engraved five by five, for example, secures the intermittent rotation of the wheel for the units of hours and that of the wheel for the tens of hours.

These number wheels are normally main tained in position by means of pawls pressed by springs and locked by a spring bolt which is moved when it is desired to make a change.

The accompanying drawings show, by way of example, a form of construction of the object of the invention.

Fig. 1 is an elevation of the whole of the stamp.

Fig. 2 is a plan view, on a larger scale, of the case containing the said wheels.

Fig. 3 is a section according to line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 shows in plan the lock-bar or bolt for the pawls. up

Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the case 1 is secured to the handle 2 by means of a screw 3 with spherical cut or milling which is supported in a bowl 1 also of a spherical shape screwed to the said case. This system of ball and socket joint, which is already known and is given by way of example, allows the stamp to-always boar accurately upon the paper whatever the direction of the handle may be.

In the case 1 is mounted shaft 5 to which is secured the minute wheel 6 and which is provided with an operating knob 7 which allows the same to be turned by hand.

Upon this shaft are loosely mounted the hour wheel 8 and the wheel for the tens of hours 9.

A hub connected with the wheel 0' carries a finger 10 and teeth 11.

lhe finger 10 acts at every revolution of the wheel 6 upon a pinion 12 loosely mounted about an axis 13 parallel to the shaft 5. This pinion is connected to another pinion 14 meshing with teeth .15 carried by the hour wheel.

In order to change the position of the said wheels the knob 7 must be actuated so as to cause the shaft 5 to revolve; at every revolution of this, shaft and consequently of the minute wheel 6, the pinion 12 turns of one tooth and causes the hour wheel 8 to move forwards according to one division.

Moreover, the pinion 14 is connected with a wheel 16 carrying a finger 17.

For every revolution of the wheel 16, this finger causes a pinion 18 connected with the wheel 9 for the tens of hours to advance one tooth.

The apparatus comprises still other number wheels which are turned by hand with a point, in the usual manner; for instance, two wheels 19 and 20 for the number of the day and a wheel 21 for the number of the month.

All number wheels are provided with teeth with which mesh pawls 22 articulated upon an axis 27. The nose of each pawl is pressed against the corresponding teeth by a spring 23 mounted upon the plate 24: closing the case at the upper part.

This plate carries catches or dogs 25 which serve to secure its correct position and which enter to this purpose into holes 26 provided upon the periphery of the case.

Preferably, the pawls are provided with a tail or extension 28 which is smoothly guided between the number wheels or between a number Wheel and a suitable washer so that the pawls will remain'well perpendicular to the shaft 27.

Inorder to prevent the said pawls to move away from the teeth during the time the stamp is in use, there has been provided a bolt 29 mounted so as to slide in the case 1 in opposition to a spring 30.

This bolt of circular section comprises plain parts 31 normally placed opposite the pawls very close to their back and to the grooves 32- provided between these plain parts.

When it is desired to change the inscription of the stamp, one presses with the thumb upon the end of the bolt 29 so as to push it back, thereby compressing the spring 80 and thus bringing the grooves 32 opposite the pawls, the knob 7 is then actuated as required. The pawls, although they are always pressed by the respective springs 23 can then be freely lifted by the teeth of the number wheels, thereby enabling the latter to be brought to new positions.

This knob and the end of the bolt which is pressed upon are diametrically opposed the one to the other upon the case so that the operation of changing the minutes can be very easily and readily performed in seizing the handle of the stamp with the left hand, in pressing with the thumb of this same hand upon the head of the bolt and in turning the knob 7 by means of the thumb and forefinger of the right hand. As soon as the said bolt is left to itself, the latter locks automatically all pawls in the catching position and the stamp is ready to be used again.

Of course, the section of the bolt need not be necessarily a circular one.

Claims:

1. In a dating stamp, the combination of a handle, a case secured to the said handle, a shaft crossing the said case, an operating knob secured to the said shaftat the outside of the said case, a first toothed. number wheel mounted on the said shaft, several other number wheels mounted loosely on the said shaft, means for transmitting in an intermittent manner the rotation of the first number wheel to the other number wheels for causing these wheels to turn one tooth at each revolution of the first number wheel, pawls, the noses of which engage respectively the teeth of each number wheel and guide the said pawls between the adj acentnumber wheels, a sliding bolt crossing the said case above the noses of the said pawls and proe vided with grooves which allow the said pawls to disengage the said number wheels, and a spring adapted to bring back automatically the said bolt in the catching position.

2. In a dating stamp, the combination of several toothed number wheels corresponding to different numeral orders and loosely mounted on a shaft, a second shaft parallel to the first one, means for causing the said second shaft to turn of a fraction of a revolution at every complete revolution of the first number wheel, means for transmitting the rotation of the said second shaft to the'second.

number wheel and means mounted'on this second shaft to cause the third number wheel numbered for the minutes, the hours and the tens of hours, a shaft on which are loosely mounted the said toothed wheels, a disc with one tooth connected to the wheel for the minutes, a toothed wheel connected to the wheel for the tens of hours, a second shaft parallel to the first one and adapted to be operated by the one tooth disc connected to the wheel for the hours and a one tooth disc connected to the second shaft and adapted to gear with the toothed wheel connected to the wheel for the tens of hours.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto aflixed our signatures.

RAOUL VILLON.

ROBERT LEMAIGNEN. V 

